Marinette Marine Asbestos Exposure & Your Legal Rights

Former Marinette Marine Workers with Mesothelioma or Lung Disease May Have Legal Rights

⚠️ CRITICAL WISCONSIN FILING DEADLINE WARNING
Wisconsin law imposes a strict three-year statute of limitations under Wis. Stat. § 893.54. This deadline runs from the date of your mesothelioma or asbestos disease diagnosis — not from the date of your exposure. If you were diagnosed more than three years ago and have not yet filed, you may have already lost your right to sue in Wisconsin civil court. If you were recently diagnosed, the clock is running right now.
Asbestos trust fund claims may be pursued simultaneously with a Wisconsin civil lawsuit. Trust assets are actively depleting — funds that paid full value a decade ago are paying reduced amounts today, and some trusts have been exhausted entirely. Every month of delay reduces what is available to you.
Contact a Wisconsin mesothelioma attorney today. Not next week. Today.

Workers at Marinette Marine Corporation in Marinette, Wisconsin may have been exposed to asbestos-containing materials throughout much of the twentieth century. Former employees, family members, and household contacts who have developed mesothelioma, lung cancer, or asbestosis may be entitled to compensation. This page covers the facility’s history, which trades faced the highest exposure risk, which asbestos-containing products were allegedly present, and how to pursue a claim under Wisconsin law. Wisconsin’s three-year statute of limitations under Wis. Stat. § 893.54 runs from the date of your diagnosis. Contact a Wisconsin mesothelioma attorney without delay — every day that passes brings you closer to losing your right to file.

What Was Marinette Marine Corporation?

History and Operations

Marinette Marine Corporation traces its roots to the late nineteenth century, when the upper Midwest’s timber and industrial economy made the banks of the Menominee River — which forms the Wisconsin-Michigan border — a natural site for heavy manufacturing and shipbuilding. The facility has operated under various ownership arrangements over the decades and built vessels for both government and military customers.

The shipyard is best known for producing:

Patrol craft
Mine countermeasure ships
Littoral Combat Ships (LCS)
Constellation-class frigates

The facility occupies a large industrial footprint along the Menominee River waterfront and has employed thousands of skilled tradespeople throughout its history. Marinette is located in Marinette County in northeastern Wisconsin, approximately 50 miles south of Green Bay and across the river from Menominee, Michigan. Workers have historically been drawn from communities throughout northeastern Wisconsin and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.

Why Shipyards Relied on Asbestos-Containing Materials (1930s–1980s)

From roughly the 1930s through the late 1970s, and in some cases into the 1980s, shipbuilding operations at facilities like Marinette Marine reportedly relied on asbestos-containing materials as standard components of ship construction, repair, and outfitting. Asbestos use in American shipyards was essentially universal during that era, driven by the material’s heat resistance, fire-retardant properties, durability, and low cost.

Federal Navy procurement specifications for many vessel types explicitly called for asbestos-containing insulation, gaskets, packing materials, and fireproofing compounds. Shipyards building to those specifications had little practical choice but to incorporate these materials.

Engine rooms, boiler spaces, turbine rooms, and machinery spaces aboard naval vessels operate at extreme temperatures and must meet strict fire safety standards. Asbestos-containing materials were the standard engineering solution to those demands for decades.

Wisconsin’s industrial economy during the same period — including heavy manufacturers such as Allis-Chalmers in West Allis, Falk Corporation in Milwaukee, Allen-Bradley in Milwaukee, and A.O. Smith in Milwaukee — similarly relied on asbestos-containing materials in manufacturing and facility construction. Workers who moved between those facilities and Marinette Marine, or who trained in Wisconsin’s industrial trades during the peak asbestos era, may have encountered asbestos-containing materials across multiple worksites throughout their careers.

What Asbestos-Containing Products Were Allegedly Present at Marinette Marine?

Common Product Categories

Workers at Marinette Marine Corporation may have been exposed to the following categories of asbestos-containing products during vessel construction and outfitting:

Thermal pipe insulation — applied to steam pipes, hot water lines, and other high-temperature runs throughout vessels under construction
Boiler insulation and lagging — applied directly to boilers, steam generators, and associated equipment
Block insulation — rigid insulation boards used on bulkheads, machinery casings, and structural components
Rope and packing materials — used around valve stems, pump shafts, and mechanical fittings
Gasket materials — sheet stock cut for pipe flanges, valve bodies, and engine components
Spray-applied fireproofing compounds — applied to structural steel and bulkheads
Marine deck compounds and adhesives — certain deck coverings and adhesives used in vessel outfitting reportedly contained asbestos-containing materials
Refractory cements and mortars — used in furnace and boiler construction and repair

Every vessel that passed through the facility during the peak years of asbestos use would have incorporated many of these product categories simultaneously.

Named Manufacturers Whose Products May Have Been Present

Court records, occupational health literature, and asbestos litigation discovery have identified manufacturers whose asbestos-containing materials were commonly supplied to Great Lakes and Midwest shipyards. Workers at Marinette Marine Corporation may have been exposed to asbestos-containing materials from manufacturers including, but not limited to:

Johns-Manville

One of the largest asbestos product manufacturers in American history, Johns-Manville reportedly produced and distributed thermal pipe insulation, block insulation, blanket insulation, asbestos-containing cement, and related products to shipyards nationwide. Workers at Marinette Marine may have encountered Johns-Manville asbestos-containing materials in thermal insulation and pipe covering applications. The company’s distribution network in the upper Midwest meant its products were reportedly present at Wisconsin shipyards and industrial facilities throughout the peak decades of asbestos use.

The Manville Personal Injury Settlement Trust remains one of the largest asbestos compensation trusts in existence, but its payment percentages have declined as claims accumulate. Filing now preserves your access to maximum available benefits. Delay works against you.

Owens-Illinois / Owens Corning

Owens-Illinois reportedly supplied pipe insulation and block insulation to industrial and marine facilities across the country. Workers at Marinette Marine may have been exposed to Owens-Illinois asbestos-containing materials in thermal insulation applications. Owens-Illinois products are alleged to have been distributed through Wisconsin industrial supply channels and may have been present at Marinette Marine and at contemporaneous Wisconsin heavy manufacturing facilities during the peak decades of asbestos use.

Armstrong World Industries

Armstrong reportedly manufactured asbestos-containing pipe insulation, block insulation, and floor tile products for industrial and marine construction. Workers at Marinette Marine may have encountered Armstrong asbestos-containing products in insulation and structural applications throughout vessel construction and facility maintenance.

Crane Co.

Crane Co. reportedly incorporated asbestos-containing gaskets and packing materials throughout its valve, pipe fitting, and industrial equipment product lines. Pipefitters and valve maintenance workers at Marinette Marine may have been exposed to asbestos-containing materials from Crane through direct handling of valve assemblies, pump components, and pipe fittings. Removing and replacing Crane asbestos-containing gaskets during maintenance would have released asbestos fibers. Crane products were reportedly common in both marine applications and the heavy industrial facilities throughout Wisconsin’s manufacturing corridor.

Garlock Sealing Technologies

Garlock reportedly produced asbestos-containing gasket sheet stock and packing materials distributed to shipyards and industrial facilities nationwide. Workers at Marinette Marine may have been exposed to Garlock asbestos-containing materials when cutting, trimming, fitting, or removing gasket material during pipe system assembly and equipment maintenance. Court records and occupational health studies document asbestos fiber release from mechanical handling of Garlock gasket products.

Pittsburgh Corning / Unibestos

Pittsburgh Corning’s Unibestos brand pipe insulation reportedly was a common thermal insulation product in industrial and marine settings and has been identified in numerous asbestos litigation cases involving shipyard workers. Workers at Marinette Marine may have been exposed to Unibestos asbestos-containing pipe insulation during vessel construction and pipe system installation.

W.R. Grace (Monokote)

W.R. Grace reportedly produced spray-applied fireproofing under the Monokote trade name. Earlier Monokote formulations may have contained asbestos and were applied to structural steel in industrial buildings and facility construction. Workers at Marinette Marine involved in structural work, facility maintenance, or spray application may have been exposed to asbestos-containing materials from W.R. Grace products.

Eagle-Picher

Eagle-Picher reportedly supplied asbestos-containing insulation and industrial products to shipyard and industrial facilities throughout the Midwest. Workers at Marinette Marine may have encountered Eagle-Picher asbestos-containing insulation products during vessel construction and maintenance.

Georgia-Pacific / Celotex

Georgia-Pacific and Celotex reportedly produced asbestos-containing insulation board and related building materials that may have been used in shipyard facility construction and vessel outfitting. Workers at Marinette Marine may have been exposed to asbestos-containing materials from these manufacturers during construction and renovation work at the facility.

Fibreboard / Pabco

Fibreboard Corporation and Pabco reportedly distributed asbestos-containing insulation and construction materials to industrial facilities nationwide. Workers at Marinette Marine may have encountered Pabco asbestos-containing insulation products in thermal and structural applications.

This list is not exhaustive. Dozens of manufacturers supplied asbestos-containing materials to American shipyards during the peak decades of use. An experienced Wisconsin asbestos attorney working with occupational health experts and historical facility records will identify which specific products and manufacturers apply to any individual worker’s claim.

Filing Deadline Reminder: Multiple trust fund claims and a Wisconsin civil lawsuit can be pursued simultaneously. But Wisconsin’s three-year civil filing window under Wis. Stat. § 893.54 — measured from your diagnosis date — does not pause while you decide. Call a Wisconsin mesothelioma attorney today to protect every avenue of recovery at once.

Who Faced the Greatest Exposure Risk at Marinette Marine?

Bystander Exposure in a Shipyard Environment

Asbestos-containing materials did not endanger only the workers who directly handled them. Ship construction brings multiple trades into the same confined spaces simultaneously — vessel hulls, engine rooms, pipe tunnels, boiler rooms. Any trade working aboard vessels under construction, or in the surrounding facility, may have been exposed to asbestos fibers released by coworkers in adjacent areas. Occupational health researchers call this bystander exposure, and Wisconsin courts have consistently recognized it as a valid basis for asbestos disease claims.

Insulators and Asbestos Workers

Thermal insulation workers — called “asbestos workers” or “laggers” in older industrial practice — faced the most direct and concentrated exposure. Insulators at Marinette Marine were responsible for:

Measuring, cutting, and fitting insulation
Applying Johns-Manville, Owens-Illinois, Armstrong, and other manufacturers’ products to pipes, boilers, bulkheads, and machinery
Handling raw insulation materials and cutting pipe covering to length
Mixing insulating cements and coatings containing asbestos-containing components

Each of these tasks could release high concentrations of airborne asbestos fibers in the immediate work area.

Asbestos Workers Local 19 has historically represented thermal insulation workers throughout Wisconsin, including workers in the northeastern part of the state who may have worked at Marinette Marine and at other Wisconsin industrial facilities. Insulator apprentices and journeymen affiliated with Local 19 who worked at Marinette Marine during the peak decades of asbestos use — roughly the 1940s through the 1970s — may have been exposed to asbestos-containing materials from multiple manufacturers on a daily basis. Insulators who worked at Marinette Marine may also have rotated to other Wisconsin shipbuilding and heavy manufacturing sites during the same period, compounding their cumulative exposure history.

Pipefitters and Steamfitters

Pipefitters and steamfitters at Marinette Marine were responsible for installing, connecting, and testing the extensive pipe systems aboard vessels under construction. Their work placed them in direct contact with pipe insulation, gaskets, and packing materials throughout the construction process. Removing existing pipe insulation to access flanges, cutting asbestos-containing gasket stock to fit,

Marinette Marine